Behavioral Neuroscience Honors PapersCopyright (c) 2014 Connecticut College All rights reserved.http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp
Recent documents in Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Papersen-usThu, 07 Aug 2014 10:25:12 PDT3600Combined effects of rearing environment and lead (Pb2+) exposure on visuospatial learning and memory in ratshttp://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/5
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/5Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:16 PDT
Critical periods of neural development occur during early postnatal life that correspond with increases in synaptic plasticity and the formation of neural circuits needed for learning and memory. This development can be profoundly influenced by experience and negatively affected by environmental toxins. Environmental enrichment and lead exposure inversely affect mediators of synaptic plasticity, which suggests that enrichment may have an attenuating effect on lead induced cognitive deficits. A wealth of evidence has indicated that exposure to excessive amounts of inorganic Pb2+ during early development can produce long lasting cognitive deficits in humans. Evidence also suggests that children raised in an impoverished environment are at a disproportionate risk for developing Pb2+-induced cognitive deficits compared with peers exposed to an enriched environment. The present study evaluated the effects of both developmental Pb2+ exposure and environmental enrichment on visuospatial working and long-term memory in rats. Animals were fed either 1500 ppm Pb2+ acetate-laced rat chow or standard chow and exposed to either an impoverished environment (single housed, bedding only) or an enriched environment (4 rats/cage with toys, enclosures, etc.) for 7 weeks following weaning (PN day 25). Long-term and working memory error rates were assessed during a 17 day radial arm maze (RAM) learning task. Results suggest that the quality of the rearing environment but not Pb2+ exposure had a significant effect on learning performance. These findings suggest that the detrimental effects of Pb2+ exposure on cognitive development may be attenuated by exposure to an enriched environment and that the combination of being reared in an impoverished environment coupled with Pb2+ exposure can significantly impair learning performance later in life.
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Nicholas TolmanThe Effects of Acute Nicotine Administration on Memory Formation and Neural Activity in the Hippocampus, Perirhinal Cortex, and Medial Septum: Implications for Neurodegenerative Disordershttp://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/4
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/4Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:15 PDT
Within the general public, nicotine is commonly thought of as a harmful molecule due to its role in tobacco addiction. However, nicotinic stimulation of the cholinergic system has also been shown to enhance cognitive functioning. This enhancement is thought to be caused by an increase in the release of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), which is responsible for mediating a variety of cognitive processes, such as REM sleep and memory formation. Recent research by Melichercik and colleagues shows that systemic nicotine administration enhances memory acquisition for both object location and object recognition memory in rats, as assessed by a modified version of the novel object recognition test (NOR). Using a standard NOR test we were able to reproduce their behavioral results: systemic nicotine administration enhances object recognition memory acquisition. Furthermore, we show for the first time that these behavioral results can be correlated with an increase in neuronal activation in the medial septum using immunohistochemical techniques. This research has implications for understanding the pathology that underlies neurodegenerative disorders with cholinergic involvement such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
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Matthew WishnoffIntegrating the cocaine sensitization and ( + )-MK-801 animal models of schizophrenia: The effect of dopamine and glutamate interactions on comorbid schizophrenia and drug abusehttp://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/3
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/3Fri, 18 May 2012 13:40:53 PDTAlison McPhersonThe Impact of a Naturalistic Stressor on Spontaneous Alternation Behavior: A New Animal Model of OCDhttp://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/2
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/2Fri, 18 May 2012 10:11:15 PDT
Over the past few decades, various animal models of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been developed. Similarly, various stressors have been used throughout animal research. The Spontaneous Alternation Behavioral (SAB) model is a well-established model of OCD while 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT) has recently become a popular naturalistic stressor. This study linked the two together, thus modeling the effect of stress on OCD behaviors. After living in an enriched or standard environment for 3 weeks, male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to either TMT or no odor, and then were examined in the SAB task. Unlike what was hypothesized, the enriched environment proved not to be obviously protective towards future stress in terms of SAB behavior. However, rats housed in enriched environments proved to be more decisive, which could be reflective of the protective nature of their enriched housing. Additionally, an interaction effect of housing and odor in terms of distance traveled during odor exposure, paired with the rats’ location in regard to the odor source, lead the researchers to believe that the enriched housing was protective for rats faced with stress. TMT proved to be effectively aversive to the rats yet, unlike what was hypothesized, TMT was not shown to be stress-inducing, at least not in a way that increased OCD-like behavior as modeled by the SAB model. The effects of stress on OCD is challenging to model and further research in this field, using a variety of models, will need to be explored.
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Christina FinchDo Athletes Respond Differently to Academic and Social Stress? An Examination of Cortisol and Perceived Stress Throughout a Semester in College Athletes and Typical College Studentshttp://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/1
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/bneurosciencehp/1Wed, 12 May 2010 10:51:47 PDT
In order to be a successful athlete, you must be able to perform well under stressful situations. Are athletes also better at responding to stress under other circumstances such as social and academic stress? The present study investigated the impact of exercise on salivary cortisol and perceived stress in college students. Cortisol was sampled throughout a semester as well as before and after a laboratory‐based stress test during the final exam period. It was found that athletes had the largest increase in cortisol between baseline and the final exam period and the sedentary students had the smallest increase. Also, cortisol levels and perceived stress were correlated in the athlete group and in a second group of students who work out regularly. These findings suggest that perhaps since athletes are often in competitive situations their HPA axis is physiologically conditioned to raise their cortisol to an optimal level in order to achieve their personal best possible results in stress provoking situations.
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Rita Rose Holak